Ukraine crisis. News in Brief. Wednesday 04 November [Ukrainian sources]

WEDNESDAY

Please scroll down to view news items added during the course of the day

News -
5 soldiers wounded in fighting against Russian forces yesterday.

Weather -
Morning mist has given way to bright sunshine. 0. High expected around 11.
Normal for this time of year would be 8. But tomorrow there will be a dip towards 5 or 6 for a couple of days.

Footie -
Good win for Shakhtar, 4-0, in the Champions League, but most likely pointless.
Really, they are now fighting for third place, and qualification for the Europa League.
A very interesting game today, Chelsea v Dynamo Kiev.

7:33
http://www.rupor.info/news-politika/2015/11/04/yacenyuk-anonsiruet-otstavki-ministrov-svoego-prav/
The current Cabinet of Ministers of Ukraine in the near future expected changes in personnel, in particular with regard to the heads of three ministries and one deputy prime minister. This was stated by Prime Minister of Ukraine Arseniy Yatsenyuk, reports Politico.
"The ministers of energy, health and education will go away (from their positions - Ed.) In the next two weeks," - he quoted as Ukrainian prime minister.
In addition, there will be new Deputy Prime Minister for European Integration.
"It is too early to say who it is, because it can destroy the coalition," - said the prime minister.

7:50
http://zn.ua/UKRAINE/popytki-boevikov-razzhech-konflikt-prekratilis-noch-v-zone-ato-proshla-spokoyno-194302_.html
====
De-mining continues; also clearing up from Svatove arms dump explosion.

6:47
http://www.pravda.com.ua/news/2015/11/4/7087452/
Duma Deputy Yevgeny Fyodorov (LED) again asked the Russian Prosecutor General Yuri Chaika to check the legality and legitimacy of the decisions that led to the collapse of the Soviet Union and bring the perpetrators to justice.
This RIA Novosti reported.
In June Fedorov has requested the Prosecutor General's Office to verify the legitimacy of the establishment of the State Council of the USSR and its decision to recognize independence of Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania.
Now Fedorov said in late October recalled the words of President Vladimir Putin that the collapse of the USSR was the supposedly humanitarian tragedy: "25 million ethnic Russians found themselves abroad out of his will."
In his opinion, the same president stated that the event in 1991. The destruction of the political, economic and social systems and institutions of the USSR led to massive violations of human rights and freedoms of millions of citizens.
"That is in fact illegal decisions were taken in the form of decrees Gorbachev" - said the parliamentarian.
===========
Well - they can always get on a train and go to Russia, if it is so wonderful there.
But they don't. I wonder why....

10:08
http://nbnews.com.ua/ru/news/165086/
====
100 on holiday.

http://www.themoscowtimes.com/business/article/russia-may-face-meat-and-dairy-deficit-next-year/541606.html
Last month, Russia's agricultural watchdog Rospotrebnadzor said 80 percent of the cheese in Russian supermarkets was fake as it contains a significant amount of palm oil.
In total, 25 percent of all dairy products in Russian shops are counterfeit, an inspection by Rospotrebnadzor revealed.
=====
Russian cheese rather like the Russian media! Fake.

10:29
http://www.facenews.ua/news/2015/296143/
Russia should remain under sanctions until the full implementation of agreements Minsk and Ukraine should speed up the anti-corruption and economic reforms.
This came to an agreement, US Vice President Joe Biden and the head of the European Commission, Jean-Claude Juncker, who spoke by telephone on Tuesday, according to the White House, reports "Ukrainian Truth"....
====
But can the EU hold together? The Greeks love Russian money. No morals. Some other countries also may be open to Russian bribes.

14:06
http://hvylya.net/news/digest/samopomich-mozhet-vyiyti-iz-koalitsii-i-uyti-v-nastoyashhuyu-oppozitsiyu-sobolev.html
I personally believe that with the President, with the Prime Minister we will not be able to create an effective government, "- said Sobolev.
====
Putin Plan 2. Destabilization of Ukraine politically.

13:59
http://gazeta.ua/articles/np/_mi-pochnemo-bojovi-diyi-tam-de-nam-ce-bude-zruchno-zaharchenko-pogrozhuye-zirvati-peremirya/657080

Donetsk terrorist leader Alexander Zakharchenko Ukrainian side accuses of violating a ceasefire and threatened to resume hostilities in the Donbas.

It is reported, "TSN".

"The truce conditional. I watched the bombardment leading position in the area of ​​the settlement Sands yesterday. There are two ways - the return of our territories by political means. I'll talk about it until it fails or until we realize that this can not be done.

If the truce is violated by Kyiv, we will start fighting where we do fit. As such, truce, I guess not, "- said Zakharchenko.

However, despite statements militants known that n-terrorist forces are in the line of fire of a collision. In particular, on Tuesday, November 3, with a enemy grenade fired Ukrainian checkpoint in Trohizbentsi. As a result, three soldiers were wounded ATO.

http://uk.reuters.com/article/2015/11/04/uk-ukraine-crisis-idUKKCN0ST1TA20151104
The delays are threatening just as Ukraine's economy shows sign of reviving.....
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I smell populism. Tymoshenko, Liashko et al.

16:56
http://hronika.info/kriminal/97328-odesskaya-oblast-gorel-passazhirskiy-poezd.html

16:43
http://www.unn.com.ua/uk/news/1517054-patrulnu-politsiyu-odesi-popovnili-338-novikh-spivrobitnikiv

16:54
http://hvylya.net/news/digest/nas-kinuli-zarplatu-tretiy-mesyats-ne-platyat-v-donetske-vzbuntovalas-respublikanskaya-gvardiya.html
In Donetsk, the indignant militants elite "Republican Guard" came out to protest.
According to the "militia", for the third month they do not pay wages. They say in the video, which appeared on the social networks. Also militants angered the families of those killed in the fighting are not getting any help from the "DNR" .
====
Zacharchenko pocketing all the money? Or Putin short of funds? Or both?

http://www.cvk.gov.ua/wvm2015/pvm057pid112=12pid102=9473pf7691=9473pt001f01=100rej=0pt00_t001f01=100
Політична Партія "Опозиційний блок" 155468 23  Opposition block
ПАРТІЯ "БЛОК ПЕТРА ПОРОШЕНКА "СОЛІДАРНІСТЬ" 143769 22 BPP
Політична партія "ДОВІРЯЙ ДІЛАМ" 78440 12 Doviryi Dilam
політична партія Всеукраїнське об’єднання "Батьківщина" 75175 11 Batkivshina - Tymoshenko
Партія "Відродження" 52854 8 Vidrozhenya
Політична партія "Наш край" 52751 8 Nash Krai
Українська морська партія Сергія Ківалова 25387 0
ПОЛІТИЧНА ПАРТІЯ "УКРАЇНСЬКЕ ОБ’ЄДНАННЯ ПАТРІОТІВ – УКРОП" 24571 0
and the rest zero also.
51 deputies. 33? pro-western

Political party "opposition bloc" Opposition 155468 23 blockPARTIYa "Petro Poroshenko Bloc" solidarity "143769 22 BPPPolitychna party" trust deeds "78440 12 Doviryi Dilampolitychna Party All-Ukrainian Union" Fatherland "75175 11 Batkivshina - TymoshenkoPartiya" Renaissance "52854 8 VidrozhenyaPolitychna Party" Our land "Nash KraiUkrayinska 8 52751 Sea Party Sergey Kivalov 25,387 0POLITYCHNA PARTY" UKRAINIAN ASSOCIATION PATRIOT - dill "24571 0and the rest zero also.51 deputies. 33? pro-western wrote:

That sucks! I wonder how that happened? Lots of buckwheat handed out, or the counting wasn't legit.

Petro Poroshenko Bloc MP, leader of the Mejlis of the Crimean Tatar People Refat Chubarov has called on the Ukrainian authorities to cut electric supply to Crimea in connection with the intensification of punitive measures against the Crimean Tatars on the peninsula.

He said this speaking from the rostrum of the Verkhovna Rada, Censor.NET correspondent reports.

Refat Chubarov noted that the channel of delivery of smuggled goods into occupied Crimea had been completely blocked thanks to Crimean and Ukrainian activists.

"The activists have blocked the channel of enrichment of the puppet government of occupied Crimea. Aksenov, Belaventsev and their cronies have lost hundreds of thousands of dollars they were receiving weekly for transferring the Ukrainian goods to the Russian mainland through the Crimean Peninsula," Chubarov said.

According to the MP, that was the reason for the intensification of punitive measures by the invaders against the Crimean Tatars, activists of blockade of Crimea, and their families. Dozens of searches and interrogations were carried out in Crimea in recent days.

Chubarov called on the Ukrainian government to cut the delivery of "the single resource which now feeds the occupants in Crimea - the electricity" by taking a relevant decision in the coming days.

censor.net.ua In Russian

A State Department official has said U.S. efforts to counter misinformation and propaganda generated by the Kremlin will be a long-term effort that includes bolstering independent media in Eastern Europe and Eurasia.

Benjamin Ziff, deputy assistant secretary of state for European and Eurasian affairs, told a Senate Foreign Relations subcommittee that the Obama administration had proposed a 26 percent increase -- to $83 million -- in funding for the coming fiscal year for civil society groups and independent media “in countries most vulnerable to Russian pressure.”

"The free flow of reliable information is our best defense," Ziff testified in the November 3 hearing.

"We view this work against the Kremlin propaganda as not necessarily a short term effort; this is a medium- and long-term effort to make sure there is no fertile ground in Europe or Eurasia for the kind of efforts they are doing," he said.

Ziff also said the U.S. administration has not ruled out supplying lethal weaponry and military equipment to Ukraine's military..............

To read further go to this link: rferl.org

A Kyiv court sentenced Oleh Lantvojt, a lieutenant-general of the border troops and ex-head of supplies department, to a 10-year term in prison, Nov. 4 border troops’ website report runs.
Lantvojt was stripped off his rank, with his property confiscated.

He was detained in May, 2014 in the act of receiving a payoff from businessmen for easing tender procedures for them and hardening for their rivals.

zik.ua

The economic losses of the Russian Federation due to its air operations in Syria are estimated at several million a day, not to mention casualties and international reputation.

As reported by Censor.NET, this was announced by Assistant Secretary of State Victoria Nuland on Wednesday in a testimony before the House Foreign Affairs Committee.

"In pure economic terms, the price of Russia's air campaign is estimated at $2-4 million per day. This at a time when average Russians are feeling the pinch of a recession brought on by economic mismanagement, low oil prices, and sanctions applied for the Kremlin's last military adventure: Ukraine," Nuland stated.

According to her, "Russian casualties are also reportedly on the rise, although the Kremlin is again working overtime to mask them and silence the loved ones of the lost."

In addition, "Russia is paying a steep price to its reputation in the fight against terror," the representative of the U.S. State Department noted.

"That is why, for now, we have limited our military cooperation with Russia to the most basic aviation de-confliction to protect our own aircrews," the diplomat said.

She stressed that the United States and its allies in the international community are awaiting further evidence that Russia is sincere in its claims to want to fight ISIL, rather than simply protecting the dictator who bears direct responsibility for the country's destruction.

In the meantime, as Nuland said, the U.S. will accelerate the work in support for the moderate Syrian opposition as well as protection of Syria's neighbors including Turkey and the countries of Europe.

censor.net.ua In Russian

Occupied Crimea's Interior Ministry confirmed the death of four people, including an Orthodox priest, in a private plane crash near Koktebel.

Censor.NET reports citing Interfax.

"According to preliminary information, a flight instructor, 1977, native of Crimea, a man and a woman, probably spouses, as well as father Nikon, priest at one of Crimea's parishes were on board," the occupation authority informed.

Earlier, prosecutor of the annexed Crimea Natalia Poklonskaya said the flight of the aircraft was not sanctioned.

According to her, such planes are used near Koktebel "to show the beauty of landscape to tourists."

censor.net.ua In Russian

In a report released on November 3, the Council of Europe describes a humanitarian crisis in the regions of eastern Ukraine affected by conflict, and proposes a detailed action plan to begin addressing civilians' basic needs. RFE/RL's Brussels correspondent Rikard Jozwiak spoke to Council of Europe Commissioner for Human Rights Nils Muiznieks about his findings in Ukraine's Donetsk and Luhansk regions.



rferl.org

“…some wonder why nothing has been done to go after close associates of ex-President Viktor Yanukovych. And while the Prosecutor General's Office and the SBU stress that there is nothing political to the action, others see selective justice.”


Commentary by John E. Herbst as published by the New Atlanticist:

Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko's government appears to have launched a new anticorruption drive with the October 31 detention of Gennadiy Korban, a close associate of oligarch Ihor Kolomoisky and the leader of Ukrop, a political party funded by Kolomoisky. The authorities arrested Korban following an investigation that began last year into the assault on government official Serhiy Rudyk and the poisoning of Dnipropetrovsk Prosecutor General Roman Fedik. In addition, the Prosecutor General's Office arrested Mikhail Koshlyak, a senior aide to Boris Filatov, who is another of Kolomoisky's associates and the Ukrop candidate for Mayor of Dnipropetrovsk. Koshlyak was arrested in connection with the murder of an officer of the Security Service of Ukraine (the SBU).

While Ukrainian civil society has spent months criticizing Poroshenko for his lethargic response to corruption, the reaction to these steps has been decidedly mixed. There is little sympathy for Korban, who has a reputation as Kolomoisky's chief lieutenant in the oligarch's forcible seizure of commercial assets. Still, some wonder why nothing has been done to go after close associates of ex-President Viktor Yanukovych. And while the Prosecutor General's Office and the SBU stress that there is nothing political to the action, others see selective justice.

An analyst sympathetic to Poroshenko's political troubles notes that this is selective justice, by necessity. Poroshenko's favorability ratings have dropped precipitously in the polls to 27 percent, and his failure to move on corruption is one reason. Euromaidan activists would like to see corrupt officials from the Party of Regions be prosecuted, especially those responsible for the use of force against protesters there. Poroshenko needs to do something to show that he understands the importance of the issue, but his majority in the Rada is not very stable, and investigating corruption in his own coalition could lead to the loss of his parliamentary majority....................

ukrainebusiness.com.ua

Poland's defense minister has asked the security services to investigate how hundreds, or even thousands, of soldiers and civilian employees of the army received harassing telephone calls from Russia, according to The Telegraph.

Tomasz Siemoniak, the defence minister, said the exact total had not yet been established, but it could “be hundreds or thousands,” The Telegraph reported.

“The security services brought the matter to my attention and I have asked for clarification,” added Mr Siemoniak. “At the moment it is difficult to say as if this was something serious or not.”

Anything involving the armed forces and Russia can set alarm bells ringing in Poland. As the country spends more on defence and urges theEU and Nato to take a hard line against Moscow, Poland has become a key target for Russian espionage.

READ ALSONATO kicks out Russian spies but revives Kremlin hotline
Last year, two people were arrested on suspicion of being part of a network of a dozen agents in Poland reporting to the GRU, Russian military intelligence.

The Polish press reported that the country’s military counter-intelligence service is investigating the mysterious phone calls. The mobile phones of the recipients usually rang briefly, with the screen showing a Russian number in a manner similar to a common scam whereby anybody who rings back is charged an extortionate rate.

How the phone numbers—all of which were owned by the same mobile operator—became known to callers in Russia will also be investigated. But the Polish defence ministry stressed that “serious or confidential” phone calls on national security did not use mobile networks....................

To read further go to this link: unian.info

The Institute of World Policy presented today the results of unique survey on how the citizens of eight EU member states perceive Russia-Ukraine conflict, a move aimed at helping identify problems in the EU-Ukraine relations and to bring to light concerns of ordinary Europeans.

The opinion poll had been conducted in Spain, Italy, Poland, France, Germany, the United Kingdom, the Netherlands, and Sweden.

The majority of the residents of eight member states of the EU (60%) agree that Ukraine is at an armed conflict triggered by Russia. This option has the largest support among the Poles (75%), and the lowest among the French (46%) and the British (49%).

53% of respondents believe that Ukraine is at civil war. The Germans and the Italians showed the highest rate of those who believe that Ukraine is at civil war (61% and 59% respectively).

The point that the conflict in Eastern Ukraine is triggered by the West is the least supported option with only 25%.

20% of the residents of eight member states of the EU do not know anything about current events in Ukraine.


Besides, the poll shows general perception of Ukraine in named countries. Among the most important fidndings are the following:

The pool of associations with Ukraine is dominated by negative images. The three key associations are war, Russia and poverty. Neutral or positive associations are shared by insignificant number of the average citizens of the surveyed states.

Only 1% of the respondents believe that Ukraine should not be allowed to join the European Union. This figure shows that skepticism towards Ukraine among the EU Citizens, often referred to by politicians and experts from the EU, is exaggerated (it should be noted, however, that the EU Citizens’ sentiments are affected by Ukraine’s compliance with the accession criteria: today’s Ukraine is clearly not welcome to the European Union).

30% of the EU Citizens believe that Ukraine should be provided with EU membership in order toprotect the country from further Russia’s aggression. Some respondents (14%), however, have noted that Russia’s position should be taken into account....................

To read further go to this link: unian.info